Patent GB-378835-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record card controlled listing or tabulating or like statistical machines
IPC: G06K15/04
Filed: 1931-05-22
Abstract: 378,835. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd., Victoria House, Vernon Place, Southampton Row, London. May 22, 1931, No. 11897/32. Convention date, May 24, 1930. Divided on 376,895. [Class 106 (i).] In a perforated card-controlled statistical machine a single card column (e.g. the two successive fields of a code card) controls a number of type-bearing members (e.g. two). For this, the column is divided into sections, each section controlling a type-bearing member having more type thereon than there are hole positions in the section. The invention is illustrated in connection with the complete machine described in Specification 376,895. The cards used are code cards, Fig. 7, having an upper field with six hole positions used for printing digits and letters (type-bars 150, Fig. 6) and a lower field with four hole positions for printing digits (type-bars 170, Fig. 5.) Card-feeding mechanism.-This is driven from a shaft which is continually rotated by the machine motor. The cards 50 are fed from magazine 51, Fig. 1, by a picker 53 through a micrometer slot to rollers 69. The card is held between plates 71, 72 by a gate 73 for reading by the six upper field pins 100, 100x, 100y and by the four lower field pins 100. After reading, rollers 80, 80a feed the card to a curved guide-plate and the clips of a rotary card stacker 81 which pulls the card into a discharge pocket 85.. Statistical cards.-Each code card, Fig. 7, has a lower field for digits and an upper field for digits and letters. In the upper field each combination of perforations A .. D in zone 1 is repeated in each of zones 2, 3 and 4 of the card. In zones 2, 3, 4, however, the A .. D holes are accompanied by a perforation in position 1, or position 2 along the column, or both. This gives sufficient combinations to cover the digits 0 .. 9 and the alphabet. Card-reading devices.-The card in the plates 71, 72 is read by pins 100, 100x, 100y which slide to the left in plates 72, 101, 102, Fig. 1, when permitted by holes in the card and by the movement to the left of a reciprocating restoring plate 104 which engages collars on the pins. The pins 100 of the upper and lower fields have blocks 119 which actuate arms 120 carrying the brushes 121a .. 121d of lower commutators 122, 123 and upper commutators 123, 124. The translator devices of which these commutators form part are constructed as described in Specification 365,169 and give the appropriate timed impulses to the adding or printing magnets 300, 192, Fig. 8. In the upper card field, the additional holes in the " 1 " or " 2 " position control the alphabet printing as follows. The four pins 100 of each column of the upper field already control the translators as above, but the extra pins 100x, 100y carry blocks 152, 153 having lateral pins adapted to swing a lever 154. Block 152 has a vertical lug in the path of block 153. According to whether one or both of pins 100x, 100y read card holes, the blocks 152, 153 swing the lever 154 into one of three positions over shoulders on a zone selector 155. The lever and selector thus have four positions. In these positions a slider 156 on selector 155 contacts with one of four bars 157 .. 160; slider 156 also contacts in all positions with a bar 161. Vertical reciprocating of member 155 is controlled by a bar 162. This zone selector is used to control the type-bars 150, Fig. 6. As the latter rise in synchronism with the rotation of the translator commutators, the zones 1 .. 4 of the type respectively pass the printing line during the first and second half of the first revolution of the commutators and during the first and second half of the second revolution. The above construction and action of the zone selector and type-bars are identical with those described in Specification 376,302. Printing mechanism. Each numerical type-bar 170, Fig. 5, of the lower card field is raised by an arm 172 pivoted at 173 and pulled upwards by a spring 174, in synchronism with the lower translator commutators 122, 123, Fig. 1. Arm 172 and the type-bar are subsequently restored downwards by bar 175 actuated by linkage 176 .. 180, 183, 181 and cams 185, from printing shaft 35. Energization of a printing magnet 192 permits a pawl 188 to arrest a rack 187 on the type-bar. The alphabetical type-bars (upper card field) 150, Fig. 6, are similarly controlled, corresponding parts having the same reference numerals with the suffix " a." Circuit diagram, Fig. 8. Alphabetic listing circuits. A commutator 611 on a continually moving shaft has a segment 612 which successively connects a common brush 613 to the brushes 157a .. 160a which are connected to the zone selector strips 157 .. 160, Figs. 1 and 8. The timing is such that each of the four zones of a type-bar 150, Fig. 6, is raised past the printing line whilst its corresponding zone brush 157a &c. is connected to brush 163 by the segment 612. The impulses of the corresponding translators 123, 124 according to the card holes thus energize the magnet 192a to arrest the correct type in the correct zone at the printing line, over a circuit 341, CL2, CF2, 613, 612, 157a, &c., 156, 161, 121d, 124, 123, 614, 615, 616, 192a, 44, 349. Contacts CF2 only close the circuit whilst the type-bars are rising. Sockets 616 are also connected to a circuit through common bar 617, P4, CF6, 618, CL2, 341. A socket 616 which is not connected by a wire 615 to a socket 614 will, therefore, still be connected to its magnet 192a to energize it when contacts P4 and CL2 close. This circuit is timed to intercept the type-bars in a non-printing position. The insertion of a plug in any socket 616 disconnects that socket electrically from line 617. Number listing and adding circuits. The lower translating commutators 122, 123 controlled by the pins which read the lower cardfield are connected to sockets 620 and wires 625 to split sockets 628. From sockets 626 the circuits extend through the printing magnets 192 ; and from sockets 621 through the countermagnets 300. The adding wheels are constituted by commutators 413, the number being represented by the differential position of inserts 414 from brushes 415. Total-printing may be initiated either manually or under the control of the cards as described in Specification 376,895. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) comprises also the following modifications :-the lower field of the card shown in Fig. 7 may also be used to record letters of the alphabet by providing the ancillary hole positions 1, 2 in this field, the reading pins, counter-driving mechanism, and other mechanism being added to or amended accordingly, as in the case of the upper card field. The record cards may be read electrically while in motion ; or the type-bars may be controlled mechanically by a pin-box mechanism, for example in the manner described in Specification 108,942, [Class 106 (i), Calculating &c.]. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.